The present exemplary embodiment relates to a shelf unit, and more particularly to a lightweight, aesthetically pleasing shelf assembly made of corrugated material for economy and strength.
Many different types and styles of shelves are known in the art for supporting and displaying goods. Conventional shelves range from metal units to assemblies made from paperboard and/or other materials. The shelf units commonly available are expensive to purchase or construct, ship, assemble, disassemble, and store. The expense associated with them is due to their weight and large unwieldy size, and the materials from which they are constructed.
Generally, shelf units are constructed of heavy hard to work materials such as wood and metal. They are fastened together with common fasteners such as screws, staples, pins, and metal rods. They often require skilled labor to assemble. In addition, metal and wood units are generally pre-assembled by the manufacturer or are shipped in partially assembled form, thereby requiring excessive shipping space. Moreover, purchasers often do not exercise care when handling and using the shelves and resulting damage requires disposal of the shelves after only a short period of time. Because of the relatively high cost of the metal or wood shelf assembly, this activity increases the cost to the purchaser or to the vendor who supplies the shelves.
Prior art shelves made from paperboard and similar materials oftentimes do not posses adequate strength to support many of the objects placed on them. The shelves are typically attached to the side walls and rear wall through tabs, dowels or other locking devices. The problem is that these devices support the shelves and do not provide sufficient shelf strength. Oftentimes, the consumer uses a paperboard shelf assembly to support objects much heavier than the assembly is designed to handle. As a result, the shelves may experience sagging or even complete failure. To give added strength, is common in the art to provide additional components such as vertical reinforcement ribs or brackets. However, these simply take away shelf space and provide a more complex and expensive shelf assembly. In addition, these extra parts are cumbersome and represent additional parts that need to be assembled and disassembled and transported with the primary shelf assembly.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved shelf assembly which is inexpensive and simple to construct and possesses superior strength, while at the same time providing maximum visibility of the objects displayed. Further, the present invention contemplates an aesthetically pleasing shelf assembly which may be shipped to the point of sale in unassembled form and quickly and easily assembled by the purchaser.